Resume Metro Services with Social Distancing: Mamata asks centre

M K Rai
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Resume Metro Services with Social Distancing: Mamata asks centre

Kolkata ( Metro Rail News ) – West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee here said on Wednesday that she wants metro services to resume with social distancing norms. The Mamata Banerjee-led administration in West Bengal has no issues if local trains and metro rail services are resumed in the state and have even allowed resumption of flight services from six cities to Kolkata that had been suspended since July 6.

The chief minister also announced that there would be complete state-wide lockdown on September 7, 11 and 12. The state government, which was earlier planning to reopen schools on September 5 if the Covid-19 situation improved, said that schools and colleges would remain closed till September 20.
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“Flight services from six cities were suspended. From September 1, flight services to Kolkata from the six cities may resume and can operate on three days. We cannot allow complete resumption of flight services as of now,” Banerjee said after a cabinet meeting.

The chief minister said that the centre should take a final call on the matter. Before Mamata Banerjee, Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too had asked the centre to resume metro services for the convenient travel of the working population.

Kochi Metro gears up for resumption of services

M K Rai
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Kochi Metro gears up for resumption of services

Kochi (Metro Rail News}: Kochi Metro Rail Limited has geared up for resuming the train operations subject to the central government nod.

To serve the passengers Kochi Metro has decided to run trains every 20 minutes. Operations will resume at 7 am in the morning and the last trip from both Aluva and Thykoodam will be at 8:00 pm. In order to cater the crowd one train will be kept at Aluva and Muttom.

“We have plans to increase the number of trains based on passenger footfall. Kochi Metro has taken all steps to provide a safe and secure journey for all Kochiites,” said Alkesh Kumar Sharma IAS, Additional Chief Secretary and MD KMRL.

To ensure proper ventilation trains will be stopped at stations for a minimum of 20 seconds. At Aluva and Thykoodam trains will be stopped for a minimum of five minutes with saloon doors in the open condition.

During the entire period of lockdown, Kochi Metro has periodically maintained the tracks, signalling system and the trains. Kochi Metro stopped its operations on March 23rd to fight COVID. The central government is yet to permit train operations in the country.

DMRC nod for construction of underpass at Noida Sector 71-52 intersection

M K Rai
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DMRC nod for construction of underpass at Noida Sector 71-52 intersection

Noida (Metro Rail News): The Noida authority on Monday said it has received the green signal from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for the construction of an underpass at Noida’s Sector 71-52 intersection under the track of Blue Metro line. The authority had been waiting for the no-objection certificate from the DMRC for the past one year.

“We have got the no-objection certificate from the DMRC. The NOC will help us in expediting the work for the underpass project that will provide relief to thousands of the commuters. Now, as we have the NOC, the work on the underpass will be completed within the stipulated time frame,” said Rajiv Tyagi general manager of the Noida authority.

“The execution of work shall be done in close coordination with the operation and maintenance department of DMRC. The work shall be done strictly as per the submitted method statement which shall be duly approved by the in-engineer in charge,” stated a letter from the DMRC to the Noida authority. The Noida authority plans to construct the 750 metres long six-lane underpass by March 2021. The Sector 71-52 intersection usually witnesses traffic, especially during peak hours.

Once the underpass is ready, the commuters travelling from Noida’s City Centre to Greater Noida West will not cross any traffic signal if they use the underpass. Commuters travelling from Sector 62 towards Dadri Road will pass a signal-free stretch above the underpass.

Metro link from Greater Noida to Botanical Garden by 2023

M K Rai
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Metro link from Greater Noida to Botanical Garden by 2023

Noida (Metro Rail News ): The Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) has finalized the route for the crucial second arm of the Aqua Line that will connect it directly with Delhi Metro.

According to official sources, the 11.5km section will branch out from the existing Sector 142 station on the expressway and run straight to Botanical Garden, where it will have an interchange with the Blue and Magenta lines. The line will significantly cut travel time between Greater Noida and Noida Expressway sectors and Delhi because the Aqua Line currently takes a detour and terminates at Sector 51 where passengers have to get off and walk to the Blue Line to catch another metro to Botanical Garden.

This move will also ease travel to IGI’s domestic airport for residents of Greater Noida and the expressway sectors because they can travel between their home station and the airport without having to leave the metro system and by changing trains just once (Magenta, at Botanical). Aqua-Line currently has no interface with Delhi Metro, affecting both its viability and ridership, which is why the need for this line was felt so strongly. The detailed project report (DPR), which the NMRC has finalized, will now be vetted by its board before being sent to the Centre for approval.

According to the DPR, the new Aqua-Line section will be built on the standard gauge with 11 elevated stations, including one at Botanical Garden. The targeted completion year is 2023. “The stations that are going to come upon this stretch will provide ample proximity to local residential hubs apart from bridging the gap with the Blue Line,” an NMRC official quoted saying. The other stations of the route will be Sector 94, Sector 125, Sector 126, Sector 97, Sector 127, Sector 98, Sector 93, Sector 91, Sector 136, and Sector 142. 


NMRC has two more extensions of the Aqua Line in the pipeline — from Sector 51 to Knowledge Park and from Depot to Bodaki in Greater Noida. These two lines are crucial to Noida’s urban expansion as well because they will cater to housing hubs like Greater Noida West, whose population will grow manifold over the next few years as developers hand over thousands of pending flats. 
Tenders are likely to be floated for the construction of the Botanical Garden arm once the Centre gives clearance.

NMRC had recently floated tenders for the construction of the Sector 51-Knowledge Park section but cancelled the tenders due to lack of adequate response. Officials said the Bodaki extensions was still being discussed and no timeline for construction has been decided. 

Mumbai’s local trains may start running by September 1

M K Rai
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Mumbai’s local trains may start running by September 1

Mumbai (Metro Rail News): If few reports are to be believed, the local trains in Mumbai may start from September 1. In March 2020, for the first time in 46 years, the sprawling Indian Railway network, including Mumbai’s lifeline, was completely shut down for over two months for all passengers to avoid the spread of coronavirus. 

As of now, a limited number of suburban trains are operating in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region from June 14. However, only passengers who are engaged in essential services can use the services.

The government had identified over 125,000 employees who are part of the essential services of the state government.
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On an average,  85 lakhs passengers used to commute daily on the suburban networks spanning Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad during the Pre COVID days.

The state government recently took a decision of running sub urban trains during the Ganesh Festival and hopefully, it may open the local train network for all by September. The move is being seen as a protective shield for saving the economy from further deterioration.

MHA to take final call for metros on Friday, Metro services may resume by September 1

Narendra Shah
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MHA to take final call for metros on Friday, Metro services may resume by September 1

NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Although the coronavirus infections continue to rise in the country, the centre is in no mood to rethink on its decisions and set to go for further easing the things through Unlock 4.0. The decision for the resumption of Metro services in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and another part of the country may come anytime soon. While Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is in favour of resuming services in Delhi, Mamata Banerjee in Bengal has announced that she is ready for such a move if centre wishes to do so.

Amid speculations, the DMRC chief Mangu Singh recently visited Rajeev Chowk metro station to see and review the preparation. Same is happening in Bangalore, Nagpur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi and Lucknow.

The DMRC has said that it is ready to run metro services if the centre decides to do so. The UPMC also has started planning to resume metro services. The Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) too is preparing. Amid speculations, the Bangaluru Metro has also geared up for opening the network for commuters.

A piece of news came from Kochi in the morning that the metro authorities are preparing well for metro resumption. Sources in the Metro Corporations and Government say that it is very likely that the metro services get resume by September 1 although a final call will be taken by Ministry of Home affairs only which is expected by Friday.

The different state governments have started demanding resumption of Metros as people face difficulties in reaching their workplaces. It is being seen as a move to ease up travel through public transport system.

As the DMRC has reported a loss of 1500 crore rupees in these days, MMRDA has also reported an approximate loss of 130 – 150 crore rupees due to suspension of services. The Bangaluru Metro is also reported to be running sort of money.

The preparations within the different metro networks before the Home Ministry order makes it clear that there is something being cooked behind the curtain. It is expected that Metro services will start again from 1st September. The only wait for everyone is a final decision by the Ministry of Home affairs.

Railways towards Privatization! The way ahead

M K Rai
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Railways towards Privatization! The way ahead

New Delhi ( Metro Rail News): The Railways has recently invited private firms to run private trains on 109 busy routes of the Rail Network. In the progress of the matter, as many as 23 private players are taking part in the process including the biggest players of the World Market of Railways & Metros Alstom and Bombardier.

The documents released by the Railways said that there shall be no regulatory authority to decide the fare of these private trains giving a free hand to the private operators to decide a fare which will probably be higher than the existing fares of Rajdhani and Satabdi trains of the Indian Railways as per different sources.

The entry of the private companies is going to change the whole game of Railway sector in India. If they are successful in operating on these 109 routes which the government is taking as a trial, we may then expect more private trains in the future. As these all firms are not coming to the board of Railways for any charity, it shall be clear that they shall be charging well to make profits.

Everything has its pros and cons. This move too has same thing when we analyse the complete scenerio. A lot of routes are there on the network of Indian Railways which always run with overcrowded trains. The initiative to run private trains will ease travel on these routes and it will be beneficial for those who may afford a good price. The services too will be better in these proposed trains as well as they will provide faster travel than those of the existing trains.

The move is being criticised by many political associations as they term it an anti-poor move. There are chances but as of now, these trains are not going to affect the poors as the Railways will still be running 95% of total trains once these private trains start operation in full swing. However, if the government decides to go for further privatization of the sector then it may create problems for the commoners.

As these corporate sectors plan and prepare to execute their ideas for running these trains, there is both Optimism and Pessimism among the two classes of Indian society. The people who need better & safe travel and have enough money to pay for it , are optimistic about the move while those who can’t pay are pessimistic about the matter as they are taking it as a move to fully privatized Railways.

The reality, however, remains with the future and the success of these private players in running these trains. Speculations are however on that the Railways may get fully privatized but as of current scenario, it doesn’t seem feasible at any cost. The future, however, is unknown and anything may happen. We shall wait and see at least the full operation of these trains to determine whether the Railways is going to be a joint venture of Private & Public trains or gets fully privatized.

The opinions and views expressed are personal.

Stay tuned with us for latest updates on the matter.

FICCI suggests reopening of Metros, foreign air services & cinemas

M K Rai
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FICCI suggests reopening of Metros, foreign air services & cinemas

New Delhi (Metro Rail News): The Industry body FICCI in its roadmap has suggested the government to reopen multiplexes and cinemas and metro rail, and allow international flight services, among others, with adherence to all safety precautions. The industry chamber has also favoured reopening of schools and educational institutions keeping in mind the local situation, as it outlined standard operating procedures for the lifting of several restrictions as part of Unlock 3.0. 

The chamber suggested that Indian and foreign air carriers be allowed to operate between two countries. It also called for permitting usage of restaurant and eateries in hotels, opening up of cinemas and multiplexes and reopening metro rail services. 

As the world continues to battle the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that a strategy of long-term total lockdown is simply unsustainable for most economies, Ficci mentioned. 

It has recommended that it is now time to consider easing the prohibitions placed on sectors such as aviation, sports and tourism, provided businesses follow the guidelines laid out in this document to the fullest. 

Laying out its suggestions for international air travel of passengers except as permitted by Ministry of Home Affairs, Ficci said, “Indian and Foreign carriers be allowed to operate between two countries”. 

India should allow foreigners to travel to the country on a reciprocal basis while accepting the COVID-19 Negative Certificate issued by the Origin Country. 

It said a Standard Quarantine Protocol should be issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to be followed by all states to facilitate smooth transit and clarity of rules for passengers. Moreover, clear cut dates should be announced by the states to open tourism, monuments, tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants and bars, said Ficci. 

MMMOCL to explores possibilities of non-fare revenue generation in advertising & land monetisation

M K Rai
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MMMOCL to explores possibilities of non-fare revenue generation in advertising & land monetisation

Mumbai (Metro Rail News): As the metros across the country are facing losses owing to the lockdown, the Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Limited (MMMOCL) is exploring at non-fare revenue sources for the Metro 2A (Dahisar-DN Nagar) and Metro-7 (Dahisar E-Andheri E) corridors, expected to be operational by May 2021 according to official sources.

MMMOCL which will be operating all metro corridors in the future has invited bids to undertake a study of the upcoming 30 stations on the two corridors and suggest measures to “maximise the revenue” in recent development.

The documents released by the MMMOCL states, “Public transport projects like metro are capital and maintenance intensive, hence will not be financially sustainable only depending on farebox revenues. The Metro Rail Policy adopted by the government of India stipulates the exploitation of various alternate revenue sources and opportunities such as advertising, commercial utilisation of land around metro station premises, transit-oriented developments (ToD), value-captured tax/financing, digital marketing etc.”

DK Sharma, managing director, MMMOCL was quoted saying, “We are expecting some out of the box ideas to maximise our revenue sources. The consultant will be expected to do a detailed study of all the stations.” The metro is facing losses worth ₹80 lakh to ₹1 crore each day.

As per a recent study conducted by a consultant appointed by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, metros across India are facing losses owing to various reasons, including sub-optimal monetisation of non-fare revenue options such as commercial space leasing, advertisement space leasing, property development, land monetisation, etc. due to various constraints, including regulatory and contractual restrictions.

Many cities have started exploring ideas around non-fare revenue but have not yet been able to achieve significant revenue. It will depend on the future course of time whether MMRDA makes any significant achievement in this matter or not.

MMRDA may take over operations of Metro One

M K Rai
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MMRDA may take over operations of Metro One

Mumbai (Metro Rail News): The city’s only operational Metro corridor—Metro One—built on public-private partnership (PPP) with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infrastructure may be taken over by MMRDA according to sources in the government. The state government has asked the agency to undertake due diligence before moving ahead with it. 

MMRDA has 26% stake in Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL), which runs the Metro, while Reliance Infra holds 69%. It has operated the 12-km Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor since 2014.  “The state has asked MMRDA to come up with the terms and conditions and also ascertain the liabilities before the negotiations can begin or proposal discussed with MMOPL.” a news agency quoted some source familiar with the matter.

Confirming the plan to take over the ownership of the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro, MMRDA officials said there have been some discussions, but talks are at “an initial stage”. 

Metro One carries ridership of around 4.5 lakh per day and has an average revenue of Rs 1 crore per day. But losses are weighing heavily on the operator, MMOPL.

MMOPL had said in a plea seeking a revision in fare that the increase was necessary to absorb the escalation in project costs.
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The company said it is “bleeding financially” and was suffering a loss of Rs 90 lakh every day of its operations. It is estimated the losses could be Rs 250-Rs 300 crores. 

Railways suffer a huge loss as crores of rail tickets cancelled due to Pandemic

M K Rai
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Railways suffer a huge loss as crores of rail tickets cancelled due to Pandemic

New Delhi (Metro Rail News): An RTI reply has revealed that the Indian Railways has cancelled more than 1.78 crore tickets since March this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and refunded an amount of ₹2,727 crore. A total of 1,78,70,644 tickets have been cancelled so far.

As per the official data, last year, the Railways had refunded ₹3,660.08 crore for the April 1-August 11 period but it had also earned ₹17,309.1 crore in the same period of time.

This is the first time when the refunds were more than the amount earned by the Railways from sale of tickets.

The first three months of this financial year, when the Railways had to suspend all its regular passenger services, the national transporter’s revenue was in the negative — ₹531.12 crore in April, -₹145.24 crore in May and -₹390.6 in June.

In the last fiscal, it had earned ₹4,345 crore in April, ₹4,463 crore in May and₹4,589 crore in June. As of now, the Railways has cancelled all regular passenger services indefinitely. However, the railways now hopes for some recovery as the passengers have started travelling in good numbers through special trains.

Underground tunnel for Kolkata’s Noapara-Barasat Metro in progress

M K Rai
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Underground tunnel for Kolkata’s Noapara-Barasat Metro in progress

Kolkata (Metro Rail News): – In a big development in the Kolkata Metro projects, the construction works on Noapara to Bimanbandar stretch of Noapara-Barasat Metro extension project has been going on in full swing amidst Covid-19 lockdown. 
On this 7.036 km stretch, the work of RCC underground box tunnel below VIP Road to Airport (Gate No.1) is presently going on.

“For the successful execution of this very important work, this road was required to be diverted,” said one person familiar with the matter.

This Road Diversion Work was accomplished on 21.08.2020-22.08.2020 night with the help of steel barricading and road blinker. 
This diversion will facilitate smooth execution of the tunneling work without hampering vehicular movement during night on VIP Road. This RCC box tunneling work is expected to be over within next two months. 

The construction will help to ease the travel between the city and airport and thus this project is being seen as a VIP corridor.

Western Railway set to run another special train for transporting essentials

M K Rai
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Western Railway set to run another special train for transporting essentials

Mumbai (Metro Rail News): Amid the hard times of the ongoing pandemic, the Western Railways has said that it will continue to transport the supply of essential commodities across the nation. In continuation of the special train initiative, the Western Railways will run one more parcel special train between Dewas and Mumbai Central. The special train will depart from Dewas on 23 August and reach Mumbai Central on August 25.

“Train No-00931, Dewas to Mumbai Central parcel special train will depart from Dewas at 19.30 hours o­n 23 August to reach Mumbai Central at 04.30 hours o­n 25 August. The train will halt at Geratpur and Ahmedabad station”, Western Railways said.

Western Railway has been running four Parcel Special trains, including a milk special rake which departed on August 21 from Bandra Terminus to Jammu Tawi and Porbandar to Shalimar parcel special. An indented rake left from Karambeli to New Guwahatiand a milk special from Palanpur to Hind Terminal.

A statement issued by the Western Railways said that in the time between 23 March to 20 August, commodities weighing above 1.03 lakh tonnes have been transported by Western Rly through its 480 parcel special trains, which mainly included agricultural produce, medicines, fish, milk, etc.

Delhi Metro may resume on a phase-wise manner: Kejriwal

M K Rai
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Delhi Metro may resume on a phase-wise manner: Kejriwal

New Delhi ( Metro Rail News ) – As the Covid-19 situations are not very well in the national capital, the city state’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal here said that he had requested the Centre to allow Metro Services on a planned manner.

In a press briefing, Kejriwal said, “We have requested Centre to allow re-opening of  Delhi Metro in a phased manner, on a trial basis, as Covid-19 situation in Delhi is under control now. I hope the Centre will take a decision soon.”

He also highlighted the efforts of the residents in bringing the Covid-19 situation in the national capital under control. “The way Delhi has been dealing with COVID-19 situation is being discussed in the country as well as across the world,” he further said.

The chief minister said, “We imposed lockdown in Delhi only once, and then gradually resumed work across fields from June 1 onwards. Probably, Delhi is the only city where lockdown hasn’t been imposed again, as we understand work and COVID management can go hand-in-hand”.

Meanwhile, the DMRC MD Mangu Singh recently visited the Rajeev Chowk metro station which the DMRC said was a routine inspection. The inspection is being seen as preparations for the resumption of metro train services with few changes.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation ( DMRC ) has meanwhile suffered a loss of nearly ₹1,300 crores as per different sources since metro services were suspended in March this year.

The Delhi Metro services have been closed since 22 March when the ‘Janta Curfew‘ was imposed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and subsequently the nationwide lockdown.

As most of the economic activities have been opened up, the speculations are on for resumption of metro services in the national capital by the start of September.

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